Sara Paxton, who looks like Alexis Bledel mixed with Kirsten Dunst, fell off my radar after TV’s “Summerland,” where she plays a not-very-likable girl, if memory serves. I missed out, judging by “The Innkeepers” (2012), which I checked out as I dig into the catalog of “X” writer-director Ti West.
Hosts with the ghost … I mean, most
I’ll also have to dig into the catalog of Paxton, a staple in little-seen horror films. Here, she plays Claire, one of two titular innkeepers, with tomboyish quirkiness. Armed with equipment similar to what the nerds in the “Insidious” films use, in her downtime she investigates the ghost legend of this old hotel. The Yankee Pedlar Inn is on its last days before it’ll likely be torn down and replaced with a parking lot.
Claire’s colleague, Luke (Pat Healy), joins her in researching the legend of Madeline O’Malley, who was allegedly killed and stashed in the basement. He’s doing it for practical and creative reasons – he wants to cash in on the haunting craze by building a must-click website.
“The Innkeepers” (2012)
Director: Ti West
Writer: Ti West
Stars: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
Spunky Claire and sardonic Luke make a great pair as they keep each other sane – sometimes utilizing cheap beer — over this last week at the hotel. They stay in open rooms and trade 12-hour shifts.
Scares and chuckles
West — who writes, directs and edits — bravely tries to balance lightness and heaviness. For example: Claire sees piano keys moving by themselves, becomes terrified and runs up to the room of Luke, who is humorously in his tighty whities.
Claire is credulous about ghosts, yet terrified when evidence emerges. If there’s an alternate explanation (such as the old stand-by that she was tired and imagining things), she goes back to being a skeptic — but her convictions are shakier than before. It’s appealing to follow Claire’s journey, especially since Paxton makes her so adorable.
West peppers in quirky guests to keep us off balance. Here, he’s less successful. A mother, with her young son, glares at Claire in the hallway. A former TV star (Kelly McGillis, “Top Gun”) is initially rude when Claire delivers towels, but she knows something about the spirit world. An old guy insists on staying in the room where he had his honeymoon, for the sake of nostalgia.
Ultimately, these folks are present for mood more so than revelations about how they tie into the O’Malley mythology.
Be afraid of the dark
“The Innkeepers” sets up and delivers a handful of good scares. One involves Claire tossing and turning in her creaky hotel bed, so – when one considers “X” — bed-based horror is in West’s wheelhouse. Another tense moment makes use of a flashlight in Luke’s face, a la “The Blair Witch Project.”
“The Innkeepers” is slickly made despite being in one sparsely populated building to keep costs down. It’s a diet version of “The Shining.” Thanks to Luke’s website, it also has a DIY messing-with-the-spirit-world flavor like TV’s “FreakyLinks.”
“The Innkeepers” delivers on the ghosts more than “Blair Witch,” but – like that found-footage groundbreaker – it doesn’t have much to say beyond the scares. Just as the rooms need more towels, “The Innkeepers” could’ve used more layers. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my 101-minute stay.